I was walking through Brooklyn and had to pick between photographing a huge colorful mural or this tiny, barely-noticeable wheatpaste of a frog holding a clock. I went with the frog because it felt more personal, and turns out the artist is some local who only puts them up at 4am. Anyone else find themselves drawn to the small, weird stuff over the big flashy pieces?
I bought a 400ml can of Montana Gold for a mural downtown and the nozzle gave out after 10 minutes of use. Tried swapping caps, soaking it in acetone, nothing worked. Anyone else had luck with a different brand that doesn't do this?
I walked past the train bridge on 5th street every day for years and that little octopus graffiti sticker with the x eyes was always there. It finally peeled off during a rainstorm last month and I felt weirdly sad about it. Has anyone else gotten attached to a random piece of street art that just vanished one day?
I was biking through an alley downtown last Tuesday and saw this amazing collage of paste-ups someone clearly spent hours on, but by Wednesday morning they were all peeling off and ruined. Has anyone else noticed how fragile wheatpaste art is compared to spray paint?
I was working on a big piece behind the laundromat downtown and kept messing up the same letter. After the third try with freehand spray I dropped $40 on a custom stencil from a guy on Etsy. It arrived in two days and let me finish the whole thing in one afternoon without any drips. The paint cost more than the stencil but I saved like 6 hours of rework. Have any of you used laser cut stencils vs hand cutting your own?
I was talking to my buddy Dave who works for the city last week, and he told me the city council quietly approved that mural back in March 2023 as a cover for a drainage issue. The artist layered those blue lines on purpose to mark where the pipes run underground. Has anyone else noticed the paint is already peeling in that exact spot near the bottom right corner?
Bought it from a guy on Etsy who swore it was weatherproof but the rain melted the spray adhesive and some old guy probably thought it was real graffiti and peeled it off, anyone else waste money on street art that didn't last?
My alley wall has this rough brick surface and I had to choose between using a paint roller or going all in with spray cans. I went with the roller because I thought it'd be faster for covering the red brick with base coat, but it ended up taking 4 coats over two days just to get solid coverage. The spray cans would have cost more but saved me all that drying time between layers. Has anyone else tried rolling on brick and regretted not just buying more cans?
I was out tagging up an abandoned warehouse last weekend and had this cheap $15 angle grinder I got from Harbor Freight. The guard was loose and kept wobbling, so I took it off thinking it would just be easier. Big mistake. That thing kicked back so hard when I hit a weld seam it nearly took off my thumb. Spent $80 at urgent care to get stitches. Now I just spring for a proper guard that locks tight. Any of y'all ever hurt yourselves trying to save a few bucks on tools for street art?
There's this big piece behind the old diner on 3rd street that looked way too clean to be real street art. I figured some college kid just copied the stencil style from Google images. Turns out after 4 months of rain and sun, the paint hasn't faded or peeled at all. Someone on the forum pointed out the signature tag matches an artist from the 2000s who only does permissions pieces. I finally checked with the building owner and he said he paid $3,000 for it back in 2019. What sold you on a piece you were sure was fake?
I spent a whole week driving around the east side and found three new murals by the same artist, all hidden behind old warehouses. Has anyone else seen that series with the faded blue birds on Michigan Ave?
I spent $40 on one of those street art spray paint kits at Michaels last month and honestly it was a huge waste. The cans barely put out any paint and the caps kept clogging after like 3 uses. I tried doing a simple piece on some cardboard in my alley and it looked more like a rusted fence than graffiti. My buddy who does real street art told me you gotta get Montana or Molotow cans online for like $6 each. Has anyone else had bad luck with those beginner kits or found a good cheap way to start?
I passed that big colorful wall on Main every day for months. Thought it was some deep commentary about consumerism or whatever. Looked up the artist tag online and found out it was commissioned by Sleepy Heaven Mattress. $12,000 for a billboard masquerading as art. Anyone else feel tricked when you find out something's just marketing?